Magazine safety razor



Nov. 28, 1944. J, MUROS l 2,363,610

MAGAZINE SAFETY RAZOR Original Filed Aug. 13, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

BY #W1 f Nov. 28, 1944. 1 MUROS 2,363,610

MAGAZ INE SAFETY RAZOR Original Filed Aug. 13, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N VENTOR.

u Patented Nov.`28, 1944 A UNITED STATES PAAT-ENT OFFICE l 2,363,610 MAGAZINE SAFETY RAZOR Joseph Muros, Cambridge, Mass., assigner` to Gil- `lette Safety RazorCompany, Boston, Mass., `a corporation of Delaware Original application August 13, 1940, Serial No.

Divided and this application March 22, 1944, Serial N0. 527,541 A 7 Claims. i GCI, 30-40) `This invention relates primarily to safety razors of the type organized to receive fresh sharp blades one by one as delivered from a `magazine source of supply, although certain of its features V may be usefully applied to safety razors in which the `blades aresupplied` by hand. In one aspect frame standing upright at anangle of about 45 in the head withthe blade maintained by the bladel hooks at substantially right angles thereto, that is to say, witha forward and downward inclination of about 45. The frame is provided in its upper wall with an elongated tongue and the invention consists in anovel combination of l renders these blades diicult tol handle and tow` locate in a safety razor ready for shaving `without danger of cutting the user or of impairing the keen edge of the blade by contact with the razor or the` blade packing.` As herein shown the magazine ofmy invention is shaped to Contain A eight or ten blades in a stack, maintaining their cutting edges out of contactwith all parts of the magazine and substantially protecting the blades from exposure. The razor on its :part is equipped with a `blade holder designed to receive a blade directly from the magazine by endwise movement substantially in shaving'position and to clamp it automatically in such position when themaga` zine is removed.

An important feature `of myinvention consists fashioned from suitably formed blanks of sheet` metal. As herein shown spring mechanism is provided for urging the frame at all times in a direction to press the holder with its blade toward stationary blade hooks. An operating arm or lever is provided for retracting the frame and through it the blade holder, thus temporarily withdrawing the edge of the blade from the blade hooks when it is desired to replace the blade in the razor A convenient construction includes a,

this is bent forwardly and projected through a slot in the head so that it may serverboth as an operating 'lever for rocking the head when it is ,desired to release a blade and also as a seat Vfor the strop in the stropping operation and as a guide in presenting the magazine. u

The magazine ofmy invention is'provided with an element having the two functions of registering it in the proper relation to the blade holder and releasing-the used blade so that a new one may bepresented tothe blade holder. As herein shown this element maytake the form of` an elongated key `or arm` shaped to pry the frame carrying the blade holder away` from `the blade the razor. At the same time the magazine itself A safety razor of isaccurately aligned with theblade holder and a new blade may `be advancedto replace the used blade which has been released by the action of the key. i

Other features of the invention consist in giving the key a forked shape to straddle the operating lever of the frame, in providing cooperative guiding means to insure the proper path of insertion and providing cooperating cam" surfaces so thatithe displacement ofthe frame andthe releaseof the used blade may be easily brought about.

These-and otherfeatures of the inventionwill be best understood and appreciated from` the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for `purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figs. 1 and 2 are views of the razor head in side elevation, showing the blade holder in two different positions; A

Fig. 3 is a similar view partly in section, showing a strop in position in the razor;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary View of the razor head in front elevation;

Fig.` 5 is a sectional view on the line 5--5 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 6 is a plan View of the blade holder shown on a greatly enlarged scale;

Fig. 6a. is a view in perspective of the pivoted head frame as seen from above; Fig. '7 is a plan view of the razor head as seen from above;

` Fig. 8 is a View in perspective of the magazine; Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are views of the razor assembled with the magazine as seen from above, Y

the feed slide being shown in three different posil .ing the magazine in assembled relation.

The handle of the razor includes at its upper end a metal ferrule I9 which is detachably secured to a transverse plate or bar I I forming the base of the razorl head. The head may be formed from a sheet metal blank by suitable punching and bending operations. The bar II merges rearwardly into a narrow upwardly inclined flange I2 and forwardly into an upright vertical flange portion I3. The vertical flange portion I3 in turn merges into an upwardly and forwardly inclined wall I4 and this merges into an overhanging horizontal portion I5. The portion I5 is bent upwardly at its forward corners and formed into a pair of spaced blade hooks I6. Between these hooks the material of the head is bent downwardly to form a guard I1. The guard is corrugated in its upper surface and perforated so that it presents a guard bar for engaging the face of the user in advance of the blade edge. The vertical flange portion I3 of the headis provided at its opposite-ends with transverse rearwardly extending ears I8 and between these ears extends a transverse fulcruml shaft I9. The stationary head of the razor thus comprises the integral sheet metal member shaped as describedwith the blade hooks andv guard and the fulcrum shaft supported in. the ears I8 thereof.

The movable part of the razor head comprises an elongated, box-shaped, sheet metal frame 23 generally rectangular in contour and in crosssection and, therefore, stiff in structure. 'I'his frame is pivotally mounted adjacent to its lower side to rock upon the fulcrum shaft I 9 as an axis between the ears I8. Its end walls are carried upwardly to provide bearings, as shown in Fig. 6a, for two parallel transverse shafts 25 and 26. Its rear wall extends upwardly and is then bent forwardly, merging into a flat top wall and this in turn merges into a downwardly extending front wall, all as show-n in Fig. 6a. This front wall of the movable frame is spaced slightly to the rear of the stationary front wall I4 of the razor head. The frame I3 may be rocked rearwardly by the prying action of a linger inserted between the wall I4 and the front wall of the frame, as will presently appear. The frame is constantly urged toward the left or in counterclockwise direction about the shaft I9 by a stiff leaf spring 21 shown in Fig. 3. The forward end of this spring is received in a slot provided for that purpose in the front flange. portion I3 of the razor head as shown in Fig. 4. The spring 21 passes under the shaft I9 and its rear edge engages in a notch provided for that purpose in the rear wall of the frame 23. The spring is normally curved upwardly and consequently tends to rock the frame forwardly carrying its upper end toward the stationary blade hooks I6.

Integral with the front wall of the pivoted frame 23 and at the upper edge thereof is formed a wide tongue or arm 28. This arm extends forwardly and passes with clearance through an aperture 20 provided in the forward wall I4 of the razor head. It extends downwardly and for- Hwardly from the aperture 2D in convenient position to act as an operating arm for rocking the frame 23 rearwardly on the shaft I9 against the tension of the spring 21. The top wall of the frame 23 is so located as to provide a seat for the strop and yieldingly presses the latter upwardly against a transverse roll mounted toy rotate freely on the shaft 25 between the side walls of the frame, as shown in Fig. 3. The frame 23 thus` maintains yielding engagement between the roll and the strop and eliminates danger of slipping between the two while it simplies the construction of the razor by obviating the necessity of additional rolls which would otherwise be necessary. The front Awall of the frame 23 is! interrupted by the arm 28 which is formed in-part from material thereof, as best shown in Fig. 6a.

Pivotally mounted in the frame upon the upper transverse shaft 26 is a blade holder. This is formed of sheet metal folded to present two flatblade-engaging plates 32 and 33 connected by a resilient cylindrical hub portion which encircles the transverse shaft 2B. The plate 32 is intact but the plate 33 recessed to provide a resilient detent 34 adapted to snap into an aperture in a blade presented to the holder and thus prevent retracting movement of the blade. The shaft 26 carries at its left-hand end as shown in Figs. 9 and 12 a pinion 36 and this meshes with a corresponding pinion 35 located on the left-end of the shaft 25; This geared connection between the two shafts causes the blade holder to reverse its position in the stropping operation as is customary in safety razors of this general type.

One suitable form of blade 4I) for use with the above-described razor is shown in Fig. 11. It Iis a narrow single-edged blade having end notches 4I and a centrally located aperture 42 with parallel edges and rounded ends. The

blade 40 may be inserted in the blade holder by pushing it forcibly between the plates 32 and 33 of the holder. The plates are bevelled at their right end to facilitate presentation of the blade and the detent 34 is arranged to snap into the central aperture 42 of the bla'de when that has been moved into registration with the4 metal or it may be moulded from any suitable thermo-plastic material. It comprises an elongated shell 44 of rectangular outline forming an enclosure o-f-which the top is formed by longi tudinally inturned flanges 45 and 46 separated by a wide centrally located slot which extends from one end to the other of the shell. The

flanges 45 and 46 form a guideway for a Ifeed slide 41 which is provided with undercut inner walls fitting these flanges. The flanges are provided at both ends with stops 48 and 49 in the shape of upturned ears which limit the path of movement of the lfeed slide 41. l

Set `in the, bottom of the magazine centrally and in line with the axis of the slide between the flanges is a pair of upstanding pins 50 and Izine` `terminates belowthe `planeof the inner faceV of the flanges by an amount equalto'i the thickness of one` of` the .blades for whichlA the magazine is designed; The end'ofthi's pin incooperation with. the flanges@ Vand 45,. therefore,

`gauges the depth. ofthe discharge: opening: inthe left-hand end of the magazine. The pin is `longer and eectively lcl'oses'itherear end` ofthe magazine: HA. curved leaf: spring, not shown, :is

arranged to `bear upon the l'owermost blade. of the blade stacki and yieldingly lift the wholel stack and maintain the uppermost' blade `in `contact `with the flanges 45. and Mi.. Atits lett-end the.`

magazine is provided' with` a projecting arm or key 52 adaptedto be inserted in the safety razor for the purpose of. registering the magazine in theyproper positibnfor the presentationof a blade and of `temporarily retracting the blade holder.. The outer end: of. the arm` @521 is tapered and forked, bieingprovi'ded with an. elongated :slot 5:3 Vso located. ast to straddle the arm 281 as' suggested in Eig; `12. The. arm' 52 is.` also provided with `a prbjectingl cam. rib! 54 located.` just .above the slot `53 and with a` projecting hook 55Lstruck outv of the-metall. of theanm. The inclined front wall I4 of the head is provided with an elongated slot 2S at its right-hand end into which the projecting hook 55 may move when the arm 52 of the magazineis inserted in operative position be- :assetato .51s. 'memo sofas tnerorwavdenfioffthemagatl'iebladehooks.Y |26. j The feedslide Il?! of the mag.- azine is now advanced' towardfthe left feeding `with it the uppermost blade ofthe stack in the magazine;` As. 4the movement'of the feed slide `progressesxtheV new blade is advanced between the sides! of. the` blade holder and the old blade is progressively pushed outof the razor head as indicated 1in Fig. 10.

from` asxsuggested in Fig. 11. The magazine may now be retracted whereupon the spring 2'! is immediately effective l to. `rock the frame 23` forwardly and seat the corners ofi the newblade within and against the blade hooks l5, thus accuratel-y establishing the proper shaving relation between the edge of the blade and the stationary guard il.

The frame 23 is `helfdupright in the razor `head at about an angle of 45 to the axis of the handle andthe `blade hooks `are `so located that the blade carrier makes a` forward and downward angle of about 45 when the blade is fully `seattween the stationary forwardly inclined wall I4 j of thehead and thefront wall of the movable frame 23. The hook 55 is in eiect a guiding projection which cooperates with the top edge of the slot 29 to keep and guide the key 52 at the edge of the blade from contact with the stationi ary hooks I6. The blade is thus freed so that it may be forced toward the left and out from between the plates 32 and 33 of the blade holder. It will be understood thatin this movement the upper surface of the blade is not Wholly disengaged from the hooks and consequently the blade holder is maintained definitely` in the angular position shown in Fig. 1, but as already intimated, the `sharp edge of the blade is withdrawn from the bend of the hooks I6. Thus, the old blade i or the new blade, or both of them, are always effective positively to prevent angular displacement of the plade holder. `The right end wall of the frame 23 is provided with a shallow notch or reblade shown in shaving position in the razor of Fig. 7, he will insert the arm 5210i the magazine in the manner explainedbetween the front wall of the frame 23 and the inclined wall t4 of the head until further movement is arrested by engagement of the razor` frame with the bend 52' of the arm 52. In this position the frame 23 has been rocked and the blade 40 moved rearward-` ly from the position shown in Fig. 7 to the posi- `tion shown in Fig. 9, i. e. out of edge contact with otally` mounted frame of substantially rectangued in the blade hooks for shaving. When. theoperatingvlever 2E islifted the frame and blade 'holder are rockedk toward the right sufficiently to clear the edge of the blade from the hooks and consequentlythe blade holder is free to swing in the stropping operation and from one stropping position to another. The insertion of the arm 52 `rocks the frame in the same direction but not sufficiently to disengage the blade from surface Contact with the hooks: in other words the blade is freed so that it can be ejected but is still held with the blade holder against angular movement.

From the foregoing description it will be seen `,that I have provided anovel narrow-blade safety razor of compact design resulting to some degree from the fact thatthe two gear rolls are disposed in a line 4or plane making an angle to the axis of the razor handle and that the rocking frame is disposed in an inclined overhanging position. It should be noted also how the operating lever for the frameis shaped and located 1 so that it serves several distinct functions beside that of rocking the frame.

The present application is a division of my application Serial Number 352,388, filed August 13.'

1940 now Letters Patent No.4 2,352,112, dated June 20, 1944, in which the safetyrazor of my invention' is claimed.

i Having thus disclosed myinvention and shown one embodiment thereof in detail for illustrative purposes, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

i 1. A safety razor having `a stationary head with blade hooks therein, a spring controlled frame pivotally mounted in the head. and having f an operating member for swinging the frame against spring pressure, said member extending transverselythrough the hook-supporting portion of the head, `a blade holder carried by the frame, anda magazine having a forked 'arm arranged to be inserted betweenthe head and frame to release a blade and shaped to straddle said operating member.

2. A safety razor having a stationary head with blade hooks therein and a spring controlled, pivlar shape having a blade holder projecting at about to the frame, in combination with a magazine having an arm for insertion between the head and frame and a delivery slot disposed at right angles to said arm, whereby the frame may be rocked to retract a blade in the holder Finally at the end of its 1 movement the new blade is fully seated inthe razor head andthe oldlblade fully ejected therefrom edge engagement with said hooks while maintaining surface contact therewith.

3. A safety razor having a stationary head with blade hooks therein, a frame yieldingly held upright in the head and having a blade holder held substantially at right angles thereto, in combination witha magazine having means for guiding a blade in a path coinciding with the plane of the blade holder, and a projecting arm disposed in a plane at right angles to the guided blade for rocking the frame when` the magazine is presented to the safety razor.

4. A safety razor having a head with stationary blade hooks, a frame mounted to rock in said head, a blade holder pivotally mounted in the frame and yieldingly maintained with-a blade engagedin the blade hooks, in combination with a magazine having means for rocking the frame to re1ease,-without disengaging the blade from the blade hooks, the blade holder being thus held against angular displacement, and means for ad- Vancing` a new blade into the holder While'the holder is so held by the old bladetherein.

5. A safety razor having a head with bladelocating means and a guiding surface, a spring controlled frame mounted to rock in said head;

an `arm projecting transversely between the f frameand the head and a blade holder carried to control the path of the key.

6. A safety razor having a head and bladecarrying frame connected for relative yielding imovement, and an operating member for separating the two, extending from the frame across the head, in combination with a magazine having a key for temporarily separating the head and frame forked to straddle said operating member.

'7. A safety razor having a head with a stationary wall, a spring controlled blade-carrying frame mounted to rock in the head and having an operating arm extending transversely through an aperture in the said stationary wall of the head, in combination with a magazine having a key shaped to be inserted between the Wall of the head and the frame and having an elongated slot for receiving the operating arm when so inserted.

JOSEPH MUROS. 

